Furtizens unite

There are an abundance of exploration-based side scrollers on the market. So many in fact that it is nigh impossible to stand out in the crowd. At first glance F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch stands head and shoulders above the crowd. Developer TiGAMES has crafted an interesting world with superb mechanics that ticked every box I could hope for. The first area really had me searching every crevice possible to complete the map and looking forward to gaining new abilities to explore even more. The big question is could it sustain that momentum throughout the entire experience.

The world of F.I.S.T. is dark and dreary. Players assume the role of Rayton, a rabbit that also happens to be a war hero living his day-to-day life in Torch City. The city is under the thumb of Legion, a regime made up of robotic canines that keep the citizens (known as Furtizens) in control. Like any good story of this type Rayton joins up with an underground resistance when he sets off to rescue his long-time friend. The story is better than it has any right to be, complete with fully-voiced dialogue and interesting characters. It isn’t award-winning, but it certainly keeps things interesting.

MSRP: $29.99
Platforms: PlayStation (reviewed), PC
Price I’d Pay: $29.99

Rayton’s main form of attack is a giant fist. The fist is actually the only working piece of his mech suit from the war. F.I.S.T. is a melee-focused endeavor that relies on switching styles and combos to take down enemies. At first it is simple and easy to get into. As the game progresses Rayton will earn new abilities and unlock combos that are better suited to handle the variety of enemies the game throws at the player. This is where combat breaks down after a while.

The combat is impactful and feels good but comes with some caveats. Let’s start with the parry moves. There is one that can be used, but the execution just feels off. I often found myself executing it out of pure dumb luck. It never felt natural to perform. The second is an ability mapped to the shoulder button. This one works far better but spends a limited resource energy that is not easily replenished. This becomes a theme as the game goes on. While Rayton has plenty of attacks at his disposal, the game seems to want to limit how he uses them. Everything has cooldowns and resource management making the core combat more irritating as the enemy pool grows larger.

The game does an awesome job of ramping up, but this only showcases the combat’s shortcomings. I was finding myself barraged with enemies that required me to switch styles on-the-fly which is cumbersome at times. Enemies can also lock Rayton into animation cycles and interrupt his attacks which becomes frustrating as cancelling my moves is not as simple. These frustrations only compound as the game goes on and new enemy types are added.

The exploration side of the game though is incredible. It has been a long time since I was working to 100% maps in these types of games. The world and Rayton’s abilities are just so smooth and enjoyable that it made me want to explore it all. There are plenty of upgrades and secrets that make it worthwhile to explore every crevice. The game does a fantastic job of showing you places you just can’t get to yet and making a mental note to return once I had that ability. This is what kept me going after a while as the combat continued to frustrate to the end.

Visually this is one stunning game. On PlayStation 5 it locks at 60fps and the effects are outstanding. The world of Torch City is a beautiful macabre setting with some unique areas that just look gorgeous at 4K. The characters are well animated, and the world is just interesting to explore. The PS4 version tops out at 30fps, but still looks stunning. The voice acting is pretty solid for a game from a smaller team, though I did feel like Rayton was working hard at trying to sound like Solid Snake. He was shy of the cadence though.

F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch is one of the worst names for a game ever. Still the exploration is second-to-none. I wish the combat was more fluid or the enemy encounters tweaked a bit better. I feel like most people will quickly fall off once the difficulty ramps up. It is not hard due to challenge, but more because of functionality and that sucks. It tarnishes an otherwise incredible experience that could have easily been the next huge series in the genre. Still if you can muster through the challenge this is an experience worth taking.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.